Assessment of language development in children with prelingual single-sided deafness

To assess the development of receptive and expressive language skills in children who had prelingual single-sided deafness (SSD).

Fifty children diagnosed with SSD at the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in Warsaw/Kajetany, Poland were included in the study. Receptive and expressive language skills were examined using a norm-referenced test, the Child Speech Therapy Assessment Cards (CSTAC).

In the test of receptive language skills, 46% of children with SSD received low scores, while 48% recorded low scores in the test of expressive language skills. Among children with normal hearing, the expected percentage of low scores is 30.8% for both receptive and expressive skills. Children with SSD demonstrated a significantly higher proportion of low scores in both receptive (χ² [2, n = 50] = 19.66; p < .001; V = 0.63) and expressive (χ² [2, n = 50] = 22.64; p < 0.001; V = 0.67) language skills compared to their normal-hearing peers.

The results showed that children with SSD are at risk of language delays. To minimise the potential consequences of such delays, appropriate early intervention - together with parental education, speech-language therapy, auditory training, and monitoring of language development - should be implemented.